Manufacture of gas.



I. BUEB. MANUFACTUVRf-OF GAS. APPucmoN FILED Aue.29, 191s.,

Patented May 2, 1916.

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MNUFACTURE F GAS,

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Application filed August 29, 19H5.V

To all whom if may concern Be it known that I, JULiIs Bunn, a sub. jectoi the Emperor ol' Germany. and a resident of Dessau, Germany. haveinvented certain new and useful improvements in die lilanul'acture of(las. ot' which the YFollowing is a specification.

rlhis invention relates to certain improvements in the ait ot' vmaking`as and it rei'ers particularly to an imiiroved method of distillinccoal in a vertical retort oven for the production ot gas, v

ln my llnited `States Patent No. 904,043 as well as in a pendingapplication tiled by nie under Serial No. 770,324. on June 28th. i913; lhave described a method oi makingr gas by the distillation of coal in avertical retort oven 'whereby great advantages in the toa-'na otsuperior gas as well as of tar were obtained.

la the present invention l describe certain details which play animportant part in obtaining a considerably higher etliciency oi the gasmaking process, the said details referring chiefly to the loss of gases,under certain conditions.

ln the practice ot' my methods of runningthe distillation of coal in thevertical retoi'ts described in U. S. Patent No. 904.043 and applicationfor ll. S. Letters Patent filed on .lune lSth, 1913, under lSerial No.776.324, l have observed that the pressure within the `gas retort variesgreatly according to the origin oic the coal and that it son'ietimesrises so high that immediate measures ha re to be taken to reduce thepressure oi the gras, as the latter escapes through the otherwisesuttieiently tight closures at the lower end ot the retort. Thisescaping` gras ot' course reduces the yield and also a great aman/ance,and l have finally-suc reeded in avoidiirer this after having;` triedvarious means. 4 v

.For the better understaiuline` oi my invention l give the F-:iilowingdetails: lu distillinkg,` coal o'l various origins according to mymethod described in the above patent and applicatioi'i, l have observedthat, within the retort, considerable pressure is created in the firstperiod while the distillingV ott' of the volatile matter is going on.VUndoubtedly this phenomenon has its cause iii an unusually greaterdevelopment oi' volatile gases and tar; the pressure rises in about twohours after the beginning of the distillation to more than 400 mni.Owing to the Specification of Letters Patent,

Patented llllay 2, serial No. arreso.

high pressure it is quite natural that gas escapes through the closuresat the lower end ot the vertical retor i, causing losses and greatannoyance. I have now made the observation that this unpleasantoccurrence may be avoided ii' one adinits steam from below into theretorts as soon as the gas pressure exceeds the usual height and it israther surprising to see that the pressure is immediately reduced to itsnormal height and that the escape of smoke is stopped.

T he drawing is a vertical longitudinal Gilt section of a 'verticalretort, parts being' broken away` similar to those shown and describedin my Patent No. $041,043 as well as in my copending application SerialNrn 776,324, certain parts being modified as hereinafter set forth.

ln the drawing c indicates the retort made oic any suitable material asset forth in my prior patent and application referred to. The space ot'gasification foi'iiied in each retort is provided at the top with a `gasdis charge b and a turnahle cover c and at the bottom with a horizontal.shutter a' or similar device.

is an annular ring fastened to the bottom ot' retort a. hy means of ange,fand carrying shutter Z on flange g.

is a convenient-ly shaped filling piece of iireproo't material or thelike, so as to keep the lowerniost layer of coal on a level with the topsui-tace of the bottom of the retort and. thereby to insure a completegasification ot the coal. i

z'. i' indicate upwardly opening channels in filling` piece ,t and jindicates a steam pipe adapted to discharge through the wall of rinzg` cinto the channels i', z' of illing piece 7L.

1t will be observed that. in order to prac tice my invention as setforth, l introduce steam as already pointed out above, during,Y the eryfirst stagel ot' the cokiug: process and only lor a short time throughpipe j into the. bottoni of theu'etort a short dis tange from its lowerclosure. thus enabling ine to avoid the existence ot' a pressure higherthan the usual one within the retort.

l am well aware that in the prior art steam has been introduced into thecoltingl retorts to obtain sii-called water gas as an -are valuableconstituents prevailing` and this pressure as soon as the chemicalreaction between the The purpose of the introduction of steam has alwaysbeen to take advantage of the great heat in order to effect achemiealreaction between the highly incandescent coke and the water7 resultingin the generation of hydrogen and carbon monoxid gas which of gas forindustrial as well as for domestic purposes. But the difference betweenmy invention and the intrfnluction ot' steam for the generation othydrogen and carbon monoxid is great and important. In the lattermanipulation the steam is added in the final stage of the coking processwhen a certain pressure is naturally rises incandescent colte and steamtakes place owing to the high temperature ot' the coke.

In the present invention the conditions are greatly ditl'erent. for atthe time I introduce the steam into the retort the coal is in theprimary stage of coking and its condition as to temperature etc.. is faraway trom that permitting the generation of water gas. A furtherprincipal difference lies 'in the fact that in the present invention anenormously high pressure already exists and the introduction ot' steaminto the retort serves to allay the pressure and to reduce it to itsnormal height.

What I claim is:

1. In the distillation of coal rich in volatile matter, the method ofavoiding loss of gas in the primary stage of the distillation consistingin reducing the high pressure to the normal degree by introducing steaminto the retort in said primary stage for a short time only underconditions preventing an increase of gas Volume from decomposition ofthe steam.

In the distillation of coalrich in vola tile matter, the method ofavoiding loss of gas in the primary stage of the distillation consistingin reducing the high pressure to the normal degree by introducing steaminto the lower part of the retort in said primary stage for a short timeonly under conditions preventing an increase of gas volume fromdecomposition of the steam.

In testimony whereof I have signed this specification in the presence oftwo sub seribing witnesses.

JULIUS BUEB. Witnesses:

WILHELM v. DiE'iERICH, FRANZ FmEEL.

